Wardens in Kirkwall
by FalconHawk
Summary: The Fifth Blight ended five years ago, and with it the purpose of the Grey Wardens is seemingly coming to an end. Mahariel has heard that her old clan is now living near Kirkwall, the same city where Amell's cousins live. Together, they travel north, hoping to find kin and some peace. But for the Grey Wardens, nothing is simple. (Also with Tabris, Merrill, Fenris, and more.)
1. Blood Oath

_Hello everyone. For those you who were reading _Wrath of the Wardens_, I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think I'm going to continue that story. I thought I was done writing fan fiction, but I've been having writer's block on my original story, so I decided to give this one a shot. It's an idea I've had in the back of in my mind since I first played Dragon Age 2, about what would happen if the Wardens had been there._

_For those who are unfamiliar with my previous stories, the characters mentioned are as follows:_

Eebon Cousland - Warden Commander of Ferelden

Kylae (Tabris) Cousland - High Warden, and wife of Eebon. (High Warden is rank I invented, and the Wardens use it to describe the six Wardens who killed the Archdemon, since none of them have served long enough to be called Senior Wardens.)

Tylis Amell - Warden Constable

Endrin Mahariel - High Warden

Roaran Brosca - High Warden

Dharr Aeducan - Warden Commander of Orzammar

Saezon - Chasind Warden, original character who became a Warden during the events of Awakening.

_Well, that's enough from me. I hope you enjoy this._

* * *

For the last time, Warden Constable Tylis Amell, the second highest ranking Grey Warden in Ferelden dropped himself into the cushioned chair in his office. He was going to miss his chair, his office, the Vigil, and the entire arling. But Eebon had spoken. The Grey Wardens were finished in Amaranthine, in fact he was pulling every Warden out from all across Ferelden to their fortress at Soldier's Peak.

Tylis didn't agree with his Commander, he thought that Eebon was destroying all the progress they'd made since they'd ended the blight five years ago. But he knew that the berserker had his reasons, and Tylis partially agreed with him. He remembered only a few ago minutes when Eebon had announced to the assembled Wardens "We are not heroes. We appear when we are needed, and we do what must be done. We disappear because we must be forgotten, otherwise the people will make us into heroes, and will come to rely on us." Tylis didn't think it was such a bad thing for Ferelden to have become so reliant on the Wardens, after all, the Wardens were the ones essentially running the Anderfels. "But it's not my place to argue." Tylis mumbled. Eebon was the Commander of the Grey, and in the five years he'd been running the Wardens he'd never made a mistake. "I'll trust him…" Tylis mumbled again.

He looked up to see that Endrin had appeared in his doorway, silent as ever. Her famous dragon scaled armor was gone, to be replaced once more by her Dalish hunter leathers. "Are you ready?" She asked.

Tylis nodded. "To Kirkwall!" He took Revas, his bladed staff and moved after Endrin, the Dalish already moving quickly down the hall, avoiding the Wardens, soldiers, and servants who packed up things that were to be taken with them to Solder's Peak.

"Did you know that Kylae is already in Kirkwall?" Endrin asked.

"No, I didn't. But I was wondering why she was the only one from our original crew not here today."

"In her last letter she said that she'd found Anders."

Tylis swallowed. He remembered when he'd heard the report from Kylae and Nathaniel detailing the catastrophe that had happened in the Deep Roads while hunting one of the Mother's Disciples.

* * *

Two Years Ago – In a forgotten Thaig

Kylae jumped onto a waist-high rock and launched herself into the air, her poisoned daggers raised above her head. She grunted as she slammed with full force into the fleeing genlock archer and drove her daggers into its exposed neck. "Sodding… bastard!" She shouted as she stabbed again. She stood up and looked at the arrow still sticking out of her side, then up at the main battle. It wasn't looking so good for her side, the darkspawn had them outnumbered and were causing a lot of damage with their archers. It was strange that there weren't any spells being cast, and she looked around for Anders. She didn't see him, but she did see the glow of some magic light coming from inside one of the ruined dwarven buildings. She ran towards it, expecting to find Anders facing down an emissary, or demon, or some kind of underground monster… but it wasn't any of those things.

Anders was in the back corner, digging through a pile of debris.

"Ser-Pounce-a-Lot, come back here, come to old Anders!" She heard him say and felt her jaw drop. Kylae stomped towards him and wrenched him to his feet where she grabbed him by the solders. "You damn shem! We're dying out there! Forget the cat, get your ass out there, an' kill some spawn!"

"No!" He protested, "I'm not leaving him!"

Kylae punched him in the face, then drove her knee into his stomach and threw him towards the door. "Get out there or I'll kill you myself!" She threatened, and they both knew she meant it. Anders disappeared out the door. Kylae groaned and looked again at the arrow in her side. She'd been so angry at the genlock who'd shot her that she hadn't felt it, but with the offending darkspawn dead and Anders back in the fight it was another matter. She grabbed the protruding shaft, gritted her teeth, and screamed as she yanked it out. Still groaning and swearing from the pain she dug into the hip pouch she always carried on missions and dug out a poultice and a small healing potion. She tied the poultice to her wound and swallowed the potion. Then the daggers came back out and she charged outside.

There was an ogre fighting a losing battle against the Wardens, it would be dead in less than a minute, and the non-Warden support soldiers who accompanied them were holding against the hurlock and genlock forces, the real damage was coming from the archers that were on top of the ruined buildings. Kylae scrambled up the side of a collapsed house and threw herself into a pack of three genlock archers, cutting one's throat before it even looked at her. The second swung its bow towards her and she ducked as the arrow was released, slashing inwards with both weapons into its knees and sending it to the ground, then she dropped and rolled to avoid an arrow from the third, kicking one of its legs and coming up to her knees from her remaining momentum, she dropped her full bodyweight down and stabbed into the archer's eye. She stood and lunged towards the darkspawn that was still growling and writhing and stomped on its throat.

"Shut-up." She mumbled and looked for more archers. Two of them were on the next building, close enough to jump to, but they had already seen her and were running for cover. Kylae pulled her last acid flask from another pouch and hurled it after them. The darkspawn stopped running as it exploded and the potent acid began eating away their flesh.

With the archers dealt with, Kylae made her way to the edge of building and looked down at the rest of the battle. The ogre was down on its hands and knees, the soldiers and Wardens hacking away at it, and the other darkspawn were all running away. The fight was over.

Saezon, the big Chasind Warden caved in the ogre's skull with the hammer side of his war pick just as Kylae landed back on the street level of the long-abandoned town. "Weak!" Saezon announced as the massive ogre collapsed dead on the ground. "Barely worth fighting!"

"Be quiet, Saezon." Nathaniel commanded. "We just lost a lot of good men and women, this is not the time for your boasting."

"Apologies." Saezon said in his guttural accent. "How many did we lose?"

"I don't know yet." Nathaniel said, then called loudly, "Wardens, spread out and set up a perimeter. We'll stay here until we've healed our wounded and have a count on the dead. Venek hol, gather our casualties, we can't bring the dead back to the surface, so we'll have to cremate them down here."

Kylae smiled in spite the situation. Venek hol was Qunari insult, but it was how the soldiers of the Vigil had come to be known, due to Sten's irritation at having to train them. Then the smile disappeared, Anders was heading back into the same building to look for his cat. Kylae dashed towards him and Anders looked too late. She collided with him hard, driving her shoulder into his chest and slamming him into a wall. Anders crumbled to the ground and Kylae kicked him in the ribs, he was still gasping when Kylae grabbed him by the front of his shirt and pulled him back to his feet, pointing his head back towards the battlefield.

"How many dead, Anders?" She hissed next to his ear, then shouted, "How many dead! And how many of them died 'cause you weren't there to shield or heal them? Jus' 'cause you had to get to your damn cat!" She threw him back the ground and pulled out a dagger.

Blue-white light shone through Anders skin and his eyes gleamed brilliantly as he pushed himself to his feet. Several of the Wardens and Venek hol backed further away, but Kylae only sneered and pulled out her second dagger. "You have no right to interfere with justice!" A voice that was not Anders bellowed.

"You don't even know what justice is anymore!" Kylae spat. "When you bonded with Anders it ruined both of you! Well… what ya waitin' for? You gonna fight or jus' stand there an' glow? I'm ready, c'mon!"

Nathaniel appeared between them and pushed them apart. "Stand down, both of you!" He ordered. "Anders, get back here!" For a moment nothing happened, and then the glow faded away. "Kylae is right, you weren't even supposed to have the cat down here! And we lost good people because of your selfishness! Now get back there and get to healing! I'll keep Ser Pounce-a-Lot with me until we get back." He looked to Kylae. "Leave off Anders." He saw the fury and hatred coming back into her eyes and cut her off before she could start. "You're right about him… completely right. But this is not the place to have it out, we still need him, he's still the best healer we have. Wait until we get back to the Vigil, and I'll make sure he's properly punished."

Kylae glared at Nathaniel for a moment, and then exhaled heavily and nodded. She didn't mind Nathaniel, he wasn't a friend, but he was practical. He was also on her very short list of shems she considered decent.

Every part of Kylae's body ached as she ran after the Disciple. She was alone now, somewhere behind her, Nathaniel and the remains of their force fought against the last of the Disciple's darkspawn. The monster half turned and pointed with its staff, Kylae folded her legs and slid towards it, just as a bolt of conjured lighting shot over her. The Disciple held out it's free hand and a stream of for poured out, still sliding forward, Kylae coiled her legs and sprang at the darkspawn, passing through the flames and digging both daggers under the darkspawn's arms where the black armor was weak. The Disciple screamed, and so did Kylae, her armor and hair were on fire.

The two of them tumbled to the ground, and Kylae pulled her daggers out, then went to work on the Disciple's face and throat. When she was convinced it was dead she rolled off the body and frantically started rolling and patting the flames out. None of the burns were too bad, her ironbark armor had protected her from the worst of it, and hair would grow back. Kylae spat on the dead creature, sheathed her daggers and started the walk back to whatever was left of the Warden's force.

* * *

When Kylae arrived, she came to abrupt halt and her jaw dropped. At first it looked like the only one still standing was Saezon, the hulking warrior solemnly wrapping bandages around his numerous wounds. Piles of dead darkspawn, Wardens, and Venek hol littered the cavern that had been the last battlefield. Eventually she saw Nathaniel sitting on a rock, his face buried in his hands, from the way his shoulders were moving it looked like he was crying. Kylae walked past the Chasind giant, and for the first time that she could remember Saezon gave no comment about his own fighting prowess, he didn't even meet Kylae's eyes.

"They're dead…" Nathaniel whispered when Kylae came close enough. "They're all dead. And it's my fault!"

"What happened?"

Nathaniel looked up and pointed at his pack. "I took it off so I could shoot, and Pounce-a-Lot got out… or Anders took him out, and then ran off. I saw him going, but he was already too far away for me to stop him."

Kylae sat down next to Nathaniel. "It ain't your fault!" She said fiercely.

"Yes it is!" Nathaniel insisted. "We lost almost half our force in the first attack, I should have stopped right there and taken us back to the Vigil! Anders couldn't be trusted, you knew that, I knew that… a blind, deaf, comatose man would have known that! But I pressed on! I got them killed Kylae, I might as well have shot my own men! It's my fault, it's—"

Kylae grabbed Nathaniel's shoulders and wrenched him around to look at her. "It's not your fault!" She glanced up as Saezon came to a stop in front of them. "You hear me? It's Anders'! He killed your guys by runnin' off… not you!

Nathaniel was quiet and lowered his head.

"What do we do now?" Saezon asked, and Kylae saw that he smaller cuts across his body were already healed. Saezon's healing powers were a marvel. When Nathaniel said nothing, the Chasind repeated, "What do we do now? Do we hunt down the shaman and brand his face? Or care for the dead and go home?"

"We can't go after Anders." Nathaniel mumbled. "This area hasn't been cleared, there are only three of us and we have no idea how many darkspawn are in the area. And we can't care for the dead because we have no fuel for a funeral pyre, and now we don't even have a mage who can burn them!" He hung his head again. Kylae and Saezon both waited until he looked back up and said, "Line up the dead shoulder to shoulder and place their hands over their hearts. It's the best we can do for them now, but check them first, there might be a few survivors who are too injured to stand. After that take down their names, they died as heroes and should be remembered as such."

None of the other Wardens had survived, by three of the Venek hol were still breathing. One of them died a few minutes after being discovered, and a second died on the journey back to Vigil's Keep, so in the end only four returned after fifty had left.

* * *

While he normally resided at his headquarters in Soldier's Peak, Eebon had come to the Vigil in order to personally oversee the hunt for the Architect's and the Mother's Disciples and with the cooperation he'd been receiving from Dharr down in Orzammar had been making tremendous progress in eradicating the self-aware darkspawn. Now he paced the width of the throne room as he listened to his Wardens report, his face somewhere between disbelief and rage. When they had finished, he continued pacing for several minutes until finally he stopped and turned back to those assembled in the throne room.

"Tylis," He said quietly, and the Warden mage stepped forward. "Send word to every Warden Commander across Thedas, give them a description of Anders and a summary of his crimes. Tell them that if he is discovered they are to hold him until we come for him, or deliver him to us."

"Yes, Commander." Tylis said.

Eebon looked to the lone surviving soldier. A mage-healer had tended to his injuries and brought him back from death's door. "What is your name?"

"Corporal Thames." He answered. "I'm in the scouting division."

"No one should have to go through what you have. If you can still serve then we welcome you back, if you feel you cannot, then we will see you away with full honors and you may choose whatever life you want."

"Well that's an easy enough choice." He said. "Whatever life I had was destroyed in the blight, that's why I'm here sir. Serving in the Venek hol is my life now!"

Several of the Wardens and soldiers around the room stomped their feet or pounded their armor in applause. Eebon smiled and nodded. "Very well, and thank you. Take as much time as you need to recover from your injuries and return to the ranks." More pounding applause sounded, and Eebon waited for it to die off before he said, "We have killed another Disciple, but this should not be viewed as a victory. Too many died, and we were betrayed by one of our own. It gives me no pleasure to give these orders, but… Roaran, Sigrun."

The two dwarves stepped forward, Roaran took a swig from his flask and slipped it back under his armor. "Yeah?" He asked.

Eebon rolled his eyes. "You're going back into the Deep Roads, take however many Wardens and Venek hol as you need, and bring our fallen brothers and sisters back. Maker allow that the Disciples have not harvested the fallen Wardens blood."

Sigrun saluted and Roaran took out his flask for another sip. "Sure thing." He said as he replaced it again.

"Wait!" Kylae shouted as she stomped into the middle of the room "I knew that bastard was rotten, but I let him go! It will not happen again!" Kylae yanked a dagger out of its sheath and held it poised above her opposite hand. "I will kill Anders…" She grimaced and brought the dagger down, slashing her own hand. She groaned and closed her hand into a fist. The blood still flowed freely and dripped off her knuckles. "I swear it, on my own blood!" She raised her fist and threw it down, opening so that the blood splattered at her feet.


	2. The Hawke Estate

The first day at sea had been miserable for both Tylis and Endrin, who had never set foot on anything bigger than a fishing boat. Endrin had spent most of the first day puking over the side, and Tylis had spent most of the first day puking into a bucket and experimenting with a spell that would keep the seasickness at bay. The sailors were all Marchers and had found their discomfort amusing, having two of Ferelden's heroes on their ship meant nothing to them. On the second day Tylis had worked the kinks out of his spell, and they spent the rest of the voyage in relative comfort, still they were both relieved when they stepped off the ship's gangplank and into Kirkwall's Gallows.

Endrin pushed greasy hair away from her face and groaned. "I'd kiss the ground, but I don't want to risk bending over."

Tylis grinned and touched his friend's shoulder, Endrin felt instantly rejuvenated, and whatever lingering feeling of nausea she had vanished. "You're welcome." Tylis grinned again.

"So where did you say your cousins live?"

"In the last letter Leandra sent me, she said they'd moved back into her family's old estate, but that was…" Tylis frowned. "A long time ago. I wonder if they're still there."

Endrin studied a road sign and started up the road that would take them to Hightown. "You didn't keep in touch?"

Tylis shrugged. "I've been a little busy running an arling, the Vigil, carrying out what our illustrious leader can't manage on his own, and hunting down Disciples in my spare time." He watched Endrin out of the corner of his eye as he added, "We can't all be carefree Dalish who frolic through the woods, firing arrows into the sunset."

Endrin playfully jabbed him with an elbow and said, "Elves don't frolic."

* * *

Tylis looked up at huge estate in front of him and felt the need to gape, but he managed to keep his mouth closed. The big house looked like a small castle, the white stone it had been made from, the straight and rigid edges, the false spires at each corner, right down to the ivy growing up the walls, which was being tended to by a dwarven gardener.

"How rich did you say your cousins are?" Endrin asked next to him, although she seemed less enamored than he was.

"I… don't know." Tylis answered. "You met them back in Lothering, they were commoners back then. When Leandra said they'd moved into their old estate, I'd assumed that meant they'd come into some money, but this… I had no idea."

"Are you sure we have the right house?"

He glanced at the heraldry above the entryway. "No… but their family name is Hawke, and if that doesn't look a hawk of some sort, then I don't know what does."

Endrin cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you going to knock?"

"Yes…" Tylis said absently, and he hesitantly moved towards the door and banged the knocker twice.

The door opened a few seconds later revealing a young, blonde, elven girl. "Good morning." She said. Her eyes moved to Endrin and widened in surprise at seeing the vallaslin tattoo, then they moved back to Tylis. "Can I help you, Messere?"

"I hope so." Tylis answered. "We're looking for the Hawke Estate, is this it?"

She nodded. "My master and mistress are away at the moment, but Mistress Leandra is here. Would you like to speak with her?"

Tylis's face broke into a grin and he almost laughed, but managed to contain himself and say, "Yes, very much." The elven girl pushed open the door and led the way through the house.

"Are you a slave?" Endrin asked bluntly, and the question caught Tylis surprise so much that he stopped and stared at his friend.

The girl didn't stop until she glanced over her shoulder and saw Endrin staring at her. Tylis didn't seem to know who to look at. "Oh no," She answered, sounding almost embarrassed. "My masters saved me. I am very happy to be here and working for them!" She started walking again and the two Wardens followed.

"Was that really necessary?" Tylis mumbled.

I had to be sure." Endrin answered seriously.

The girl led them through the entire house, out the back door and into a walled garden. At the far end was a grey-haired woman, sitting on a stone bench. A bouquet of flowers rested on the bench next to her, and she read a letter that presumably came with the flowers. "Mistress," The girl said, "These people wanted to—"

"Leandra!" Tylis burst out. "I've finally come!"

The woman looked up and when she saw Tylis the letter dropped from her hands. "Tylis!" She said.

Endrin looked away as the two of them hugged, and she hoped that Tylis wouldn't start crying. She looked at the elf. "What's your name?"

"I am Orana."

"Aneth ara, Orana. I am Endrin. Is there someone I can rest while they two of them catch up?"

"Yes, come with me messere. And I have fresh bread if you would like."

Endrin nodded, "Ma serannas."

"What?"

"It means thank you in our language."

Two hours had passed and Endrin still hadn't seen Tylis or Leandra come in from the garden. Orana had been more than accommodating, too much for Endrin's comfort, the girl seemed to actively look for things to do before Endrin could lift a finger to do them herself, and occasionally started talking as if she and Endrin were old friends. She talked about her papa, and her old mistress, someone named Hadriana, her new masters, she seemed to prefer not using their names, and several other people that Endrin had never heard of. Endrin was almost relieved when she heard a door open and close, but the voices that followed did not belong to Tylis and Leandra.

"…but like I said." A female voice said, "This Nelson was the best fighter I'd ever faced off against, and his attack the Grand Cleric and then taking her hostage only to release her was the stuff that legends are made out of! So, with all that I mind I said that we should take the fight back to my cabin and—"

"I can guess how it ended." Another woman said, and a third person laughed.

"We're going to have to do something about your innocence one of these days." The first voice said, "My offer still stands to take you to the Blooming Rose."

"Very kind of you." The second voice said, and then the three people entered the kitchen. Endrin recognized two of them, the one she didn't know was a dark-skinned woman with a blue bandanna around her hair, and wearing a… shirt that didn't leave much to the imagination. They still hadn't noticed Endrin when Bethany said, "Orana, it's already been a long day, please tell me that you—" She stopped when all three of them simultaneously saw Endrin sitting on a tall stool.

"It's you!" Bethany said in shock. "The one who saved Carver!"

The dark-skinned woman tiled her head to one side and looked Endrin up and down with an odd smile.

"Oh no…" The third person said and started to back out of the room. "You've come for me!" It was Anders.

"Anders, no, stop!" Endrin said, raising both her hands to show she was unarmed. "I'm not here for you, I didn't even know you were here."

The rogue Warden wasn't convinced and disappeared from sight.

"What are you doing here?" Bethany asked, still too surprised to notice her friend was gone.

Endrin grinned. "It's good to see you again too, Bethany. I came to Kirkwall to try and find my clan. I heard they're here, and Tylis insisted that we come to see you first."

"Tylis!" Bethany beamed. "He's here too?"

"Yes, he's in the garden talking with Leandra."

"Bethany," The dark-skinned woman said. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your beautiful friend?"

"What? Oh yes, sorry. "Isabela, this is Endrin. She's one of the Wardens who saved Carver."

"Charmed." Isabela said. "I hope we can…" Her eyes moved up and down Endrin's body again. "Get to know each other soon."

Endrin wasn't sure how to respond to the strange human, but fortunately she didn't have too, Bethany was kind enough to intercede. "Yes, well, perhaps we can sort that out later. Come-on Endrin, I want to hear about what's happened in Ferelden the last five years."

"I think I'll pass on this." Isabella said. "Reunions get me all teary-eyed, and we can't have that. See you later sweet-thing." She looked at Endrin and kissed two fingers, then waved them at the Dalish.

"What is it with her?" Endrin asked when she'd gone.

"Oh, Isabela?" Bethany asked. "She's a… how should I put this… free spirit."

Endrin arched an eyebrow and followed Bethany as she headed towards the garden. She glanced back at Orana, but the girl didn't even look up from her work. For a brief moment she saw herself, without vallaslin, standing over a lump of uncooked bread dough and a pile of chopped potatoes. Not a single thought of independence or free will in her head. Endrin had gathered that Orana used to be a slave, but had been freed. At least her body was free, her mind was still a slave, and on some level she always would be. "Andruil," Endrin whispered and ran her finger along the arrow tattooed the length of her face. "Thank you that I was born into the Dalish."

* * *

Carver started shedding his armor as soon as he shut the door behind him. He'd heard Bethany joke that he could be tracked by the pieces of armor he dropped. His armored gauntlets clattered to the floor. He knew it was true, but he was so tired, and his work as a templar was becoming more exhausting. His helmet fell off at the far end of the foyer. Blood magic was a real problem. He knew that not all blood mages were evil, Merrill was a blood mage and she was one of his closest friends. He pulled the chest-piece and attached backplate over his head and dropped them at the bottom of the stairs. But he was getting somewhere! He was the youngest Knight-Lieutenant in Kirkwall, and both Captain Cullen and Commander Meredith sang his praises, telling him that he could easily become a Knight-Commander himself. The greaves landed heavily in middle of the main room. He heard muffled voices coming from the garden, Mother must have had guests over, and he supposed that he should at least make a token appearance before he disappeared into a hot bath for the next hour and then to bed, he was so exhausted it was all he could think about. He left the armored boots on, appearing barefoot just wouldn't do. He lived in Hightown after all.

"Orana, get a bath ready, please." He said without looking into the kitchen.

"Yes, master." He heard her say. He and Bethany had both tried to convince the girl to call them by their names, but she could not be persuaded.

He pushed open the back door, expecting to find his mother entertaining a small group of their neighbors. He stopped short when he saw the guests his mother and sister were entertaining. Tylis looked much older than the mere six years it had been since they saw each other, and there could be no mistaking the elf he'd first met at Ostagar. "Tylis?" He said in disbelief, not even realizing the name had left his lips, and then another one slipped out, "Endrin?" They all looked towards him, and Endrin's face changed from extreme boredom to relief.

"You still remember me." Endrin said. "I'm surprised."

Carver answered, "After Ostagar, and then the dash back to Lothering, you'd be hard to forget."

Endrin grinned in response.

"And Tylis, I was starting to think you were either dead, or would never come."

Tylis grinned as well and shrugged, at the same time Leandra said, "Carver! Is that really how you greet your cousin?"

"I'm sorry." Carver said reflexively. "I'm tired, and it has been six years."

"No explanation needed! Six years is a long time, and longer than I had planned" Tylis said, still grinning as he approached, and they quickly hugged. Tylis pulled back and looked at the uniform Carver wore. "You're a templar now." It was a statement, not a question.

"Knight-Lieutenant." Carver said proudly, and then remembered he was talking to a mage. "I hope that's not a problem."

"No." Tylis answered. "I knew some good templars even when I was in the Circle."

Endrin tilted her head to one side. "How did that happen?" She arched an eyebrow and looked to Bethany, then back to Carver. She pointed to Bethany. "She's a mage, and she's not wearing Circle mage robes, so I'm guessing she's still an apostate… And you're a templar lieutenant."

"Endrin!" Tylis said.

"What?" Endrin answered innocently. "I know you're thinking it too. And I'm curious."

Carver laughed lightheartedly and Bethany chuckled. "Carver's a lieutenant alright." Bethany said. "But I'm a Circle mage."

Both Tylis and Endrin looked at Bethany. "How did that happen?" Tylis asked.

"We get that question all the time." Bethany said.

Carver cut in, "We made the decision together. After a Deep Roads expedition, we got rich, and Bethany being a mage couldn't be kept private anymore."

"I turned myself in to the Circle," Bethany added, "And Carver became a templar the same day." She smiled at her twin. "He was the one who made it bearable for me."

"When I made lieutenant," Carver took over again, "I asked the Knight-Commander that she be released into my supervision. We work together now, a symbol of the Circle itself, templar and mage—in unison!" Bethany nodded in emphasis.

The two Wardens and three Hawkes talked long past sunset and into the night. Carver and Bethany alternatingly telling the story of their flight from Ferelden, arrival in Kirkwall, and their struggle to rise in the cutthroat society of the city. Tylis and Endrin in turn told them the story of the blight after Ostagar, their own fight against the darkspawn, the extreme lengths they had to go to in order to gather an army, culminating in the Battle of Denerim and their defeat of the Urthemiel.

"Tylis was the one who finally killed the Archdemon." Endrin finished. "He was the only one who could have, the rest of us were too beat-up to keep fighting."

"Don't lie!" Tylis immediately countered. "You were the one who killed the Archdemon, remember?"

"No." Endrin answered, and they smiled at each other.

"So, who actually ended the blight?" Carver slurred. He was beyond exhausted but refused to go to bed and leave his cousin and the elf who might have saved his life six years ago.

The two Grey Wardens smiled at each other, and Endrin said. "I did… or… Tylis might have, I can't really remember."

"Could have been Eebon." Tylis volunteered. "Or maybe Dharr. I don't remember, it's all so hazy."

"Don't be coy." Leandra chastised them. "We all want to know, how did it really end? The stories we've heard aren't very clear, and the other Ferelden refugees don't seem to know the truth of it. Which of you really killed the Archdemon?"

Tylis answered, "We'll never say." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but after it was over, we made a pact to never say who really killed it."

Endrin said, "We knew that whoever killed the Archdemon would be elevated to near-godhood status, but we saw our quest to stop the blight, and the fight against Urthemiel as a group effort, and we all played equal parts. So, whenever someone asks who killed the Archdemon, we misdirect them."

"Sounds fair," Carver said tiredly, and made a yawn without any attempt to conceal it. "Well, Tylis… ladies, I'm going to my bath, which is probably cold now, and then to bed."

"Good night." Tylis said, "We should probably hunt down an inn ourselves."

"Don't be absurd!" Leandra quickly cut in. "That would make us the worst hosts in Kirkwall, and we could house a small army in these walls. Please stay with us, it's only fair."

Endrin glanced at Tylis, and the mage nodded. "We would be honored." Endrin responded. "May I sleep in the garden?"

Before they could ask, Tylis said, "She doesn't like sleeping inside, she says it's too human. She might sleep on the floor on the fourth night or so."

* * *

Endrin did not sleep that night. Almost as soon as the last human and left the garden she took her bow and climbed over the wall. As a huntress of the Sabrae she'd learned to moved silently through the woods or countryside, and after years as a Warden and friendship with Kylae, she was silent as a shadow in the city as well. She slipped past the drunks who staggered to or from a bar, around the groups of City Guardsmen, and several "patrols" of pretenders, all without breaking her stride. She always moved down, farther away from Hightown, past the markets, through Lowtown and into the Elven Alienage.

Merrill's name had come up in conversation more than once, and Endrin had gathered enough to know that it was the same Merrill she'd grown up with the Brecilian Forest. Tylis had found his family, now it was time for Endrin to find hers.

Lights shone in several of the alienage windows, but only one house was decorated with Dalish carvings. Endrin picked up a carving a halla, briefly examining it in the dim light before setting it back down. She knocked on the door.

"Coming, coming… I'm coming." A voice from the past answered, and Endrin wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She'd never decided what she would say to her old clan if she saw them again, and so far the only one she'd seen had been Ashalle. She was still thinking what she'd say when the door swung open to reveal the same Merrill she remembered. The same dark hair, and vallaslin. The same wide, curious eyes. The same poise.

"Merrill." Endrin said the name, she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Endrin…" Merrill answered. "Are you a ghost?"

"No." Endrin stepped across the threshold and took the bow off her back. "This is Falon'Din's Reach, Master Ilen gifted it to me when I passed the Hunter's Rite." She set it down and leaned it against the wall next to the still open door. She showed the scar on her arm. "This is where the wolf bit me before Tamlen killed it." She pulled off her hooded green cloak and held it out with both hands, but Merrill only backed further away, disbelief still showing in her eyes. "This is the cloak that Ashalle gave me when we claimed our home in the New Dales." She let it drop to the floor and held out a single hand. "Touch me, Merrill. You cannot touch a ghost."

Merrill reluctantly took Endrin's hand in her own. "Lethallan?" She asked, and her eyes widened as the truth dawned on her. "Lethallan!" She shouted and pulled Endrin closer, hugging her fiercely, as if Endrin would turn into smoke and blow away if she let go. "Endrin, ma falon! You're here… you're really here! You've come back! But how… the Keeper… the Warden… Tamlen… the cave…" Her voice trailed off for several seconds. Endrin didn't answer, she clung to Merrill just as tightly. "You're not a ghost! And you're here! How is this possible?"

"I'll tell you everything." Endrin whispered.

* * *

_Hello again everyone. I hope you liked this most recent chapter. Writing it made me laugh a couple times. I always wondered what a meeting with the Hawkes and Amell would go, and even more about what it would be like if Mahariel and Merrill came together again. I'll get more into the Bethany/Carver dynamic later, and how Hawke's death affected them... yes, he's dead._

_For the record, Endrin does not find out that Merrill is reassembling the Eluvian that corrupted her at this meeting, but she will eventually. I still haven't decided how she's going to react._

_Until next time -_

Falconhawk


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